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02_29_2024 morningheadlines Kennedy Pickering
Boulder Foothills Hospital now part of Kaiser Permanente Health Insurance
Starting tomorrow, Boulder Foothills Hospital will become part of the Kaiser Permanente Health Insurance Network for most of Boulder County’s 38,000 members.
According to the Daily Camera, Kaiser signed a provider agreement with the Boulder Valley Care Network to offer certain Kaiser members access to more than 600 primary care and specialty physicians and clinicians, including BCH clinicians.
This option will be in-network for Kaiser members with Choice PPO, Senior Advantage Choice PPO and Senior Advantage (HMO) Medicare health plan members.
BCH, a nonprofit health care system, offers a network of providers and facilities in Boulder, Erie, Lafayette, Longmont and Superior.
Potential violation by Suncor going against recent agreement with Colorado
Six environmental groups said in a legal brief that a recent agreement between Colorado and the energy firm Suncor is insufficient and will cause problems.
The settlement that the state and Suncor made on February 5th won’t cover all of the energy firm’s property and will also cause delays in getting an air-monitoring program started. Furthermore, the environmental groups questioned whether the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment could enforce the new requirement for Suncor to monitor for six pollutants rather than three.
The agreement from February 5th also included a $10.5 million fine for Suncor for excessively polluting the air with chemicals.
According to The Denver Post, the state could sue Suncor if they ignore parts of the agreement.
Colorado Medicaid is failing to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act
An advocacy group filed suit last week against the state Medicaid program. The Colorado Center on Law and Policy says the insurance program has violated the rights of disabled people.
Colorado Medicaid, which serves people with low incomes or severe disabilities, has been struggling with delays in determining people’s eligibility. The complaint also says Medicaid had people slip through the system because of a revamped computer system and new case management policies.
CCLP and the National Health Law Program urge Colorado Medicaid not to drop their clients until their issues have been resolved.
Mobile harm reduction van in Arapahoe County
Arapahoe County Public Health unveiled a new mobile harm reduction van, which is supposed to prevent overdoses and offer sexual health services.
The department introduced the van called Prevention Point on Tuesday, saying it wants to help reduce the toll of the opioid epidemic on the community. According to The Colorado Sun, the van offers sterile access and disposal of syringes, Narcan, and tests for certain STIs.
The van will be rolling around the county, trying to fill the gaps in harm reduction services. The next stops will be Englewood, Bennett and Aurora.
